Joanne C. Gerstner
AUBURN HILLS — It’s pretty obvious Missouri senior Ben Askren is quite impervious to peer pressure, social contrivance and other silly things of that nature.
Start with his head. Most wrestlers have close-cropped styles that don’t compete with their headgear. Askren has a collar-length mane of unruly, curly, dirty blonde-brown hair, with most follicles unrestrainable by his headgear.
His hair sets the tone for the Zen of Askren: He’s a bit unorthodox, carries some major style, and refuses to suppress his spirit.
But don’t get caught up in the packaging. Askren arguably is the nation’s best college wrestler, riding a two-year, 85-match winning streak. His ultimate destiny is pointing toward freestyle at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
These are the final days of his college wrestling career as he tries to go out winning a second straight title at the NCAA Wrestling Championships at The Palace. He’s the top seed at 174 pounds.
“Will I be bitter if my streak ends and I don’t win the title again here? No way, “Askren said. “No matter what happens here, I’ve done this my way. I’ve been successful because I’ve worked harder than everybody else, I’ve paid the price to be the best. So if I don’t win, I won’t be mad. I’ll shake the other guy’s hand and walk off the mat with my head held high.
“But don’t get me wrong, I don’t plan to lose.”
He sailed through Thursday’s three early rounds, advancing to today’s quarterfinals.
Fan favorite
Askren comes with his own cult following, led by parents, Michele and Chuck, Mizzou teammate/younger brother Max, plus numerous friends and Tigers fans. Askren has put wrestling on the map at Missouri, thanks to winning the team’s first national title last year.
Some wore Askren gear, yellow or blue tie-dyed T-shirts bearing his image. The shirts, emblazoned with the caption “Funky Ben, “have a cartoonish image of Askren’s sky-high ‘fro taken from a high school photo.
This is the pinnacle of college wrestling, and the pressure to perform well in front of an arena packed with friends, foes and family is everywhere.
Wrestlers wandered the hallways and back rooms of The Palace, either preparing for or recovering from matches. Most had the same looks in their eyes: either a bit of focused rage, or a wide-eyed measure of stress-generated fear.
Askren looked different. He radiated joy, similar to a puppy’s happy, pent-up eagerness before romping in the yard on a warm spring day.
“Look at all of those guys, “Askren said, surveying the competition as he calmly slouched into his seat in the stands between rounds. “Can they say they’re enjoying themselves? They don’t smile or look happy. I don’t think anybody here could say they’re having more fun than me. I am fun. That’s what I hate about all of this — I wish I could change things so guys would wrestle with less pressure for the chance of doing their best. Not the wins and losses.
“You know there are people here that are going to say something, like the coach or the fans or whatever, if these guys don’t do what they want. You know, win. That just ticks me off totally. I never want to get caught up in that stuff. Never.”
But don’t mistake Askren’s happiness or utopian competitive philosophy as a lack of killer instinct. He wants to take his opponents down, wrecking them physically and emotionally.
He wouldn’t reveal his secrets, but admitted he’s big into head games.
Having fun
Askren turned some heads his senior year in high school, when he came to a match wearing a business suit and carrying a briefcase.
He thought the other wrestlers were too serious and weren’t having enough fun, so he decided to call them out.
And that’s quite a statement coming from a guy who ended up as a three-time prep All-American and two-time Wisconsin state champion.
“That’s always set him apart from the rest, he’s just different in every way — always the best ways, “said Askren’s former coach, John Mesenbrink of Arrowhead High in Hartland, Wis. “He’s strong, fun, so mentally and physically talented.
“I’ve seen many wrestlers literally mentally fall apart just by stepping on the mat with him. They know that if they make even one small mistake, he’s going to kill them.”
Askren realizes he and his wrestling success are mostly anonymous concepts to the world outside wrestling. The NCAA basketball tournament dominated sports Thursday, likely meaning few outside The Palace cared about wrestling.
But a little more than a year from now, perhaps the world will be captivated by Askren’s skill and engagingly frank personality.
Stranger things have happened. America fell in love with champion snowboarder Shaun White at the last Olympics, thanks to his flowing locks, winning skill and unique spirit.
“I’m not doing any of this for attention — if I did, I picked the wrong thing, “Askren said, laughing. “The people who need to know about me already do. The rest are going to have to find out, I guess. I’ll still be the one who’s wrestling and working hard.”
And likely, the one rocking the hair with spirit that won’t quit.
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